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◼ SOLUTIONS Bloomberg Businessweek March 23, 2020THEBOTTOMLINE Laboreconomistssaynewgraduatesshouldbracefor
a weakerjobmarketamidtheCovid-19pandemic,thoughit’stooearlytosay
howbadthingscouldget.recession,andthatcouldhitallsectorsoftheeconomy.”
The 2008 financialcrisismayoffera guideforwhatto
expect:Forcollegegradsage21–24,unemploymentwas
at6.4%in March2009,comparedwith5.1%in March2019,
accordingtoEPIextractsfromBureauofLaborStatistics
data.TheexperiencesoftheMBAclassesof2010,2011,
and 2012 mayprovidesomecomfort:Despiteenteringthe
jobmarketduringa globalrestructuringanddeeplayoffs
onWallStreet,mostfoundworkaftergraduating—evenif
it tooklongerandtheirrolesweren’talwayswherethey
wantedtobe,accordingtoaBloombergBusinessweek
surveyof15,050MBAalumniin 2018.
Recruitingforsomeindustriesgenerallystartsearly
in anMBA’ssecondyear.ByFebruaryabout60%ofstu-
dentswillnormallyhaveoffers,saysPhilipHeavilin,exec-
utivedirectorofcareerdevelopmentatRiceUniversity’s
JonesGraduateSchoolofBusinessin Houston.Bygradua-
tionin May,80%willhavea job.Theexperienceoftheclass
of 2020 couldshowa sharpcontrastbetweenthosewho
securedpositionsbeforethevirus-triggeredmarketcrash
andthosehuntingforworkafterward,hesays.
Career-servicesofficesincludingHeavilin’sarefinding
thatjoboffersforMBAshaven’tevaporatedyet.“Sofar
therearenoplanstopullback,”hesays.Indiana’sKelley
Schoolis receivingnewpostings,includingfroma large
consumer-goodscompany,saysEricJohnson,executive
directorofgraduatecareerservices.
ManagementconsultingfirmBain& Co.hasnoplansto
scalebackontheoffersit’smadetomorethan 600 MBA-
levelhiresworldwide,saysKeithBevans,a Chicago-based
partnerwhoheadsglobalconsultantrecruiting.“Youhave
tohirethroughthedifficulttimes,”hesays.
There’soneoptionthatcouldbesaferfora graduate
thanenteringtheworkforce:stayinginschool.College
seniorsmightconsidera graduatedegree,andMBAswho
don’tlandjobscouldpursueanindustry-basedcertifica-
tion,saysAnthonyCarnevale,aneconomistatGeorgetown
Universitywhodirectstheschool’sCenteronEducation
andtheWorkforce.“Abadstartwillaffectyoudeepinto
yourcareer—yourfirstjob,yoursecondjob,”hesays.“This
is goingtobea toughsummer,andif yougeta recession,
it’llbeanother 10 monthsofslowerhiring.”�JanetLorinRobMelick,anMBAstudentatIndianaUniversity’sKelley
SchoolofBusiness,hadlineduphalfa dozenmeetings
fora mid-Marchventurecapitalconferencein California
co-sponsoredbyhisschool,hopingtomakeconnections
thatwouldhelphimlanda positionin thetechnologyor
financial-servicesindustry.Whentheeventwascanceled
becauseoftheCovid-19 pandemic, those meetings were
moved to phone calls or online.
How the virus changes recruitment—and the overall
labor market—is weighing on Melick and his fellow stu-
dents, though he says he feels reassured that companies
haven’t delayed any conversations with him. “There is a
lot of stress and concern among classmates,” says the
32-year-old, who’s at home in Bloomington, Ind., prepar-
ing for lectures and coursework set to resume remotely at
the end of the month.
The class of 2020 is gearing up to enter the workforce
amid a daily barrage of warnings about a global recession—
or even a depression—from economists and politicians, as
well as talk of corporate bailouts and the nationalization of
companies. If hiring stalls, new grads could end up unem-
ployed or having to settle for lesser roles, putting them on
a weaker footing at the outset of their career.
The outlook isn’t good, but it’s too soon to tell how
bad things will get, says Elise Gould, a senior econo-
mist at the Economic Policy Institute, an independent
nonprofit research group in Washington. “The best-
case scenario is there’s a delay in the system and then
it picks up again, and people may not get jobs as early
as they’d hoped,” says Gould, who publishes an annual
report about the labor market for each year’s graduat-
ing class. “The worst-case scenario is we’re headed for aWarnings about a global
recession have MBA students
fretting about their
job prospectsIs the Class of
2020 Doomed?